Too Little, Too Late?
by musicormisery4105
Summary: Susan tries to forget Caspian - but it's impossible. Caspian on the otherhand, still in love with Susan, gets crushing news. He has to get married or give up his Telmarine throne. CANCELLED FOR WRITERS BLOCK!
1. Prologue

**Authors Note: (PLEASE READ) Okay, recently I went and watched 'Narnia: Prince Caspian' and fell in love with the Susan/Caspian romance and decided to write a fanfic on an idea I had. I am brand new to Narnian fics so if I make any mistakes with spellings or character names please point it out _nicely. _I don't appriciate flames so PLEASE don't send any. I don't have much time on my hands so I don't know how often I will be able to update and every writer knows of that awful thing called writers block which I have had for months on one of my previous stories, so I'm warning you now. Anyways, I _love _reviews so please tell me what you think of the story--they often inspire me to write and update faster. Also, if you have any suggestions, you are welcome to say so. Oh and I don't know Prince Caspian's _wifes_ name in the books so I will make it up unless someone knows her name and lets me know. This will be UNCANNON just warning you and it IS an eventual Suspian, I promise!**

**_Disclaimer_: I OWN NOTHING so please do not sue! :)**

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**Prologue - Departure**

-_**Narnia**_-

Heart beating loudly in her chest, Susan walked up to the handsome Telmarine prince, soon to be the new King of Narnia. In the month that she had been in Narnia, Susan discovered how much she really cared for Prince Caspian, maybe she even loved him. But she knew that they could never be together, Aslan had told Susan and Peter earlier that day that they wouldn't be returning to Narnia. Susan was devastated by this news when she realized that she would probably never see Caspian again.

Now, Susan wanted to say her final goodbyes to him before she and her siblings walked through the magical tree portal and back to England, where Aslan said that they really belonged.

"I'm glad I came back." Susan said once she stood in front of Caspian.

"I wish we had more time together." Caspian said to her in his Spanish accent.

Susan sighed softly and avoided looking into Caspian's dark brown eyes, "We never would have worked anyway." She said.

Caspian looked confused and Susan couldn't miss that pure hurt that was in his eyes, "Why not?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Susan smiled up at him before continuing, "Well, I am 1300 years older than you." She teased.

Caspian managed a smiled and then watched as the love of his life turned to leave with her siblings. Susan was about to walk away from Prince Caspian forever when suddenly she made a spur of the moment decision that would change her life forever. She turned on her heel, ran back up to Caspian and kissed him.

Susan felt herself melt into the Prince as soon as their lips touched. She could practically feel the sparks as he began to kiss her back after recovering from his shock. Susan found herself wanting more and more of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed against his lips as he wrapped his own arms around her waist, crushing her to him.

After they broke apart Caspian still clutched Susan close to him, as if trying to memorize everything about her, for this would be the last time he would see her. Much to soon for either of their likings, Susan pulled away from Caspian's strong embrace and walked over to her siblings who were all looking at her with sympathetic faces. The moment she stepped from his arms, she wanted to be right back in his strong embrace, but she knew that it was time to leave.

As the four siblings walked through the tree arch, Susan took once last look at her Prince before she passed on through. The look on his face was one of such absolute heartbreak that she almost turned back around and begged Aslan to let her stay. But something inside her made her turn and keep walking through the portal. After seeing the look on his face as she left, she wondered if maybe kissing him was the wrong thing to do. It might have just made things so much harder on the both of them. Now it would be close to impossible to forget Caspian. But at that thought she realized something; she didn't want to forget Prince Caspian. She wanted to keep every memory of him that she could in hopes that someday they would meet again.

The wind slowly swirled around them and the four Pevensie children found themselves right back at the train station, the very train station that had transformed into a cave near Cair Paravel. Now they stood by their bench and suitcases while people buzzed around them as they hurried to get a good spot on the train. Their Narnian clothes were gone and were now replied with their school uniforms.

Once realizing where they were, Susan felt tears spring to her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She tried to make her dark brown hair fall in front of her face like a curtain so her siblings couldn't see her teary eyes.

"Aren't you coming Phyllis?" Susan looked up in surprise and saw the boy that had been talking to her right before she left for Narnia was trying to get her attention.

Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan gathered up their suitcases and boarded the train together that would take them back to their 'home.'

'_I'll never forget you Caspian, never.' _She thought as the doors to the train closed.

"Do you think there is any way we could get back?" Susan heard Edmund say, breaking her from her thoughts.

From the corner of her eye she saw Peter and Lucy look at Edmund in confusion.

"I left my new torch in Narnia." Edmund complained as Lucy and Peter started to laugh at their brother.

But the words hit Susan hard and a roll of jealousy coursed through her. Lucy and Edmund would be able to return to Narnia. But Peter and Susan, they would never return. Susan could only hope that maybe Aslan would change his mind and maybe let Susan be reunited with a certain dark haired Prince, the man who had stolen her heart.

**_Please press the pretty blue/purple button below to leave me a review of what you thought! :)_**


	2. Chapter 1

******Authors Note: _Within the first couple hours that I had this fic up I got 6 reviews, and then a day later I had more than double that amount :) I'm so excited that you all like the story. And I know that the first chapter was basically exactly how the ending of the movie was but I wasn't sure how else to start the story off so I just tried to stick to the story line as much as possible. So hopefully you think this chapter is a little more original. This chapter MAY be a little confusing but everything shall be explained, well most of it anyways, in the next chapter which I already have typed but I'm still going over it. If you are still confused or have any questions feel free to ask in your reviews/PMs. _****_But all you need to know now is that this is AFTER 'Prince Caspian' and 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.' All the romance between Caspian/Susan happened in 'PC'. Just to warn you, this will be majorly different from 'VotDT' partly because I haven't read the whole book (I just skimmed it to make sure that I had the dates, some info and names right) and partly because this is a fanfic and I wanted to still make this a Suspian fic. So anyways, sorry for the long authors note (I tend to get carried away with them sometimes) but on the next chapter I will try and shorten it down a bit. Anyways thanks for the amazing response from the last chapter! :) Enjoy the chapter! I tried to make it longer than the last one. Hopefully this shall suffice. _**

**Disclaimer:** **_I'm not C.S. Lewis so I own nothing. :)_**

**Warning:** **_FULL STEAM ANGST AHEAD for at least the next few chapters. Just warning you._**

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**Chapter One - Time**

-_**England**_-

Susan's emotionless blue eyes stared out the window of the train as it brought her closer and closer to her 'home' after returning from spending the summer with her parents in America. At first Susan wasn't that excited to travel to America but she knew the stress of being in England was starting to get to her and with Peter going to the Professor's and Lucy and Edmund going to stay with their Aunt Alberta and Uncle Harold, she knew it was the perfect opportunity.

But as she sat aboard the train she let her mind wander to the one place that she promised herself that she would forget, Narnia. Truly, no matter what Aslan thought, England would never be Susan's home. Susan knew that her true home was in Narnia, with Glenstorm, Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, Reepicheep and of course, Prince Caspian. It had been seven months since she had returned to England from Narnia. That meant seven long months since Susan had last seen Caspian, seven months since they had said their final goodbyes. Susan wondered how many years had passed in Narnia since their departure. She wondered if Caspian ever moved on and more importantly, she wondered if he was even still alive.

Susan felt the train that she was riding on come to a slow and steady halt. When she finally broke from her thoughts of her Prince, she noticed that her mother was trying to get her attention, "Susan, come on. It's time to go home." Her mother told her.

Susan sighed, "Coming." She didn't even bother contradicting her mother, saying that England would never be home to her ever again. Susan got her suitcases and followed her parents off the train. As soon as they were off the train she heard someone yell her name, "SUSAN!" the person yelled loudly.

Susan looked up and saw the sandy blond hair and clear blue eyes of her eldest brother, Peter, who was waving and trying to get her attention. Despite the constant depression Susan was had been in since leaving Narnia, she still managed a bright smile, the first real smile in months. "Peter!" Susan yelled in excitement.

Susan flung herself at her older brother and almost sent them sprawling out on the floor of the train station. Several passerbyes gave them strange looks. Even their own parents were curious at their behavior. Susan was hugging her brother tightly while Peter was grinning like a maniac. Susan's reaction had surprised Peter greatly. He was happy to see a real smile upon her face and he secretly hoped that the depression that his sister had been in for the last seven months had disapated during her trip to America. He even went so far as in to hope that maybe finally accepted that they couldn't return to Narnia.

"How was the trip?" Peter asked Susan as they tore from each other's embrace.

"It was nice." Susan said. "It defiantly was alot different than England, that's for sure." she said truthfully.

"So how are you feeling now?" Peter asked.

Susan knew exactly what her brother meant. He was asking about her depression. "Better." She lied.

Peter looked at her sister skeptically. He knew that she was lying because she couldn't look him straight in the eyes but before he got the chance to question her about it, his father interrupted, "Peter, can you help me with these suitcases?"

Peter looked over at his father who looked a little overloaded since he was, after all, carrying his wife's luggage along with his own.

"Sure." Peter answered, taking his mother's things. "Do you need any help with your luggage, Su?" he asked.

Susan shook her head and picked up her suitcases to show that she could handle it on her own, "No, I'm alright." She told him.

"Well, if you're sure..." Peter trailed off.

Susan gave her brother a reassuring smile and together they followed their parents out of the train station.

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The ride back to the Pevensie house was uneventful. It was mostly filled with Susan and Peter's parents enlightening their son on how their trip went. Peter listened and hung onto every word while Susan resumed to staring out the window of the car. She watched as children played games near their homes and adults hustled and bustled in and out of shops.

She was completely lost in thought when they passed by a black stone statue of a lion and Susan could have almost sworn that it came to life, shook it's mane slightly and then it winked at her. She gasped loudly which caused her parents and Peter to look at her in concern.

"Is everything alright Susan?" Peter asked.

Susan nodded, "Yes, everything is fine Peter." She lied.

Susan fiddled with her hands, twining them together and then un-twining them in her lap over and over again. She couldn't believe she had just thought that a stone statue moved. Just because the statue looked like Aslan didn't mean that it actually _was _him. Did she miss Narnia so much that stone statues that resembled friends that she felt behind would 'come to life' in her mind?

'_Oh Aslan, why must you torture me so?' _Susan thought.

While Susan was thinking about all of this, Peter stared at his sister with a worried expression etched onto his face. He knew that leaving Narnia had been hard on her but he had thought that things were getting better. Just moments ago he had thought that maybe going to America had made things better but maybe he had been so excited to see his sister that he didn't quite see through the act that she was putting on, like now. Maybe the trip to America had only worsened things. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when Lucy and Edmund informed them on their latest trip. But if anything he knew that it would probably break what little spirit his sister had left.

The Pevensie's stopped outside of a small brick house. Peter and their father grabbed their bags while Susan and their mother walked up the steps and entered the small but cozy home.

"We're home." Helen Pevensie called out as soon as the four of the Pevensie's stepped through the door.

Susan wasn't sure why her mother was announcing their presence to the household but her thoughts were soon answered when she heard a large commotion come from upstairs. Not even a second later she then saw Lucy fly down the stairs and launch herself into Susan's own arms. "Susan, we have so much to tell you!" Lucy said excitedly.

Edmund and Peter both shot their youngest sister pointed looks, warning her that it wasn't the time to discuss something like that. It needed to wait until later, when their parents were present and possibly when Susan was in a better mood.

'_This is going to kill her.' _Edmund thought distraughtly.

"What about?" Susan asked, trying to ignore the looks that her brother's had given Lucy.

Lucy looked from her elder sister to her brothers and lastly to her parents who were staring at their children curiously. "Later." Lucy told her sister quietly.

Susan nodded.

"So how was America, Susan?" Edmund asked, changing.

"Great, but I really missed you guys." Susan said truthfully as she pulled Edmund in for a hug.

"Susan, do you want me to take your stuff to your room?" Peter asked from the doorway. He had carried her suitcases in for her.

"Yeah, sure." Susan replied.

Lucy grabbed her sister's hand, "Come on, we have much to talk about." She said as she dragged her sister up the stairs, Edmund and Peter following with the suitcases.

As soon as they were all up in Susan's room Lucy shut the door and turned to Susan, her eyes gleaming. "We went back."

"Lucy..." Peter warned.

Lucy looked at her oldest brother in a confused manner, "What?"

"Do you think we really need to talk about this now?" he pleaded. He didn't want his sister to become depressed again. He had thought that he saw a small spark in her eyes today at the train station and he knew as soon as Edmund and Lucy gave Susan their news that that spark would disappear and his sister would be heartbroken once more.

"The sooner the better." Lucy argued.

Edmund rolled his eyes, "I'm not so sure Lu."

"She needs to know." Lucy said firmly. "You know that."

Edmund and Peter exchanged another glance, "But like I said earlier, can't it wait until later." Peter told his sister gently.

"And like I said earlier, the sooner that we get this out, the better it will be for all of us." Lucy retorted. "You can't just keep this from her. It isn't fair to her."

"I'm just trying to protect my sister." Peter said.

"Oh come off it, Peter." Lucy said in a hard tone of voice, one that Peter had never heard his sister use before. "You may be trying to, but you have to realize that sometimes you can't always protect her. You know as much as anyone that we need to tell her this, it may hurt her but you know that it needs to be done." Lucy said quietly.

Peter looked at his youngest sister in amazement. Narnia had certainly made his little sister grow up. She wasn't the little girl that she once was. In body she may still look like a young girl but in spirit and wisdom, for all he knew, she could be older than he was. That was what Narnia did to them, it made them stronger and wiser.

"Do you want to see our sister broken up again, Lu? Do you?" Edmund responded angrilly.

Edmund felt a firm hand on his shoulder, willing him to calm himself. "As much as I hate to agree with Lucy, she does deserve to know. We can't keep it from her forever."

"Whose side are you on Peter?" Edmund yelled, shaking Peter's hand off of him.

"I'm not on any side." Peter said tiredly.

Edmund fired about another excuse but Susan didn't hear it. She was lost in her own thoughts. In fact, she had started to drown out the conversation they were having right after Peter started to argue with Lucy.

Susan knew exactly where Lucy was referring to in the beginning but decided to say otherwise. She ignored her siblings bickering. She felt extremely out of the loop but tried to hide her feelings of hurt from her siblings. Susan went over to her suitcases and started to put all her things back in their place, "What are you talking about?" Susan asked Lucy, interrupting yet another retort that Lucy had been giving to her brothers on the matter at hand.

"Edmund and I went back to Narnia, with Eustace." Lucy explained quickly while looking at Edmund for approval. Edmund nodded slightly, a small sliver of fear in his eyes.

"Eustace? Eustace went to Narnia?" Susan exclaimed in disbelief, spinning around and eyeing her youngest siblings and deciding to drop her act.

Edmund nodded again, "Lucy, Eustace and I were sucked through a painting at Aunt Alberta and Uncle Harold's house and we landed on the _Dawn Treader._" He explained after a few moments of silence.

Susan stop in front of her dresser and stood with her back to her siblings so they didn't have to see her face when she spoke her next sentence. She fiddled with her hands again before she finally spoke, "Did you see—is he—how is—" she stuttered.

Lucy, Edmund and Peter exchanged a panicked glance that didn't go unseen by Susan. Susan felt her heart drop for she automatically assumed the worst. He was dead, her Prince had already been long gone. Lucy, who saw her sister's face drop, immediately explained things. "Caspian is still alive. Actually, it was his ship that we appeared on." She said quickly.

Susan looked up and managed a small smile, "He is? Is he okay? How is he?" Susan's siblings saw another small spark light up in her eyes at the mention of Caspian's well being.

"Prince Caspian, well now _King_ Caspian, is well and told us to tell you how much he misses you." Edmund replied. It was the truth, Caspian had asked Edmund and Lucy to tell Susan how much he missed her but that was before he got the news from his kingdom. Edmund looked from Peter to Lucy, wondering if he should tell his older sister that little detail or not, no matter how badly it would hurt her.

Susan saw the look that Edmund gave Peter and Lucy and knew that something was up, "What aren't you tell me."

Susan watched as her siblings looked down in shame.

"I know that you're hiding something from me." Susan said. Her siblings still didn't reply, "You know, I'm not a baby. I think whatever you aren't telling me, I can handle."

"She's right. She has the right to know." Peter said finally, although his eyes were pleading with her to just forget it.

Susan nodded and held her ground. She was sure that nothing they could say would phase her. Caspian was fine and well in Narnia and she now knew that he hadn't forgotten her, which was good enough for her.

"Susan, you may want to sit before we tell you this news." Edmund said quietly.

Susan almost rolled her eyes and told her siblings that she wasn't going to sit but something in the back of her head was telling her otherwise. Her siblings wouldn't just get worked up over nothing. For once she actually listened and sat down on her bed, facing her siblings.

"Caspian—he—" Edmund cut off helplessly.

"Caspian what?" Susan questioned, her heart already sinking. If she had known that this was going to be about Caspian, maybe she would have took her siblings advice and just dropped it.

The room was filled in a tense silence while Lucy, Edmund and Peter all exchanged more glances, trying to decide who was going to be the one to break it to her. Susan looked at her siblings angrily, "Tell me what's wrong with Caspian!" Susan demanded after a few moments in a stern voice. Her siblings all jumped in surprise.

"Nothing is wrong with her, per-say." Peter said slowly.

"Well then what is going on? What have you all been arguing about all day?" Susan asked.

"Caspian has to get married Susan, and soon." Lucy announced, her clear voice breaking through the tense silence in the room like a knife.

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**_I got way more favorites/story alerts than actual reviews, so anyone that didn't review the last chapter, could you please review for this chapter? _**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm completely shocked, 30 reviews for the last chapter and 53 alerts. That brings us to a total of almost 50 reviews, that is 15 less than my last story from 'Heartland' that is 11 chapters long (its currently on ****Hiatus **though for writers block), this is only TWO and it almost has more reviews than it! Anyways, I'm so pleased with your response! It made me want to write more and quickly too! So here is the next chapter, sorry to leave you hanging with Susan but I thought that you might want to see whats going on with Caspian. Next chapter will be Susan, I'll probably switch back and forth between the two every other chapter. But anyways, I'll quit rambling now and let you get on with the chapter! Please review!

**Disclaimer:** **big surprise, I own nothing but Councilor Nieander, Councilor Leonidas, Councilor Vasilios, Councilor Theron. **

**Note: I made up the name for the star's daughter but I'm warning you know, her story will be _majorly _different then in the books. Therefore uncannon. Also, I'm not for SURE on the name of Caspian's horse also I'm not for certian on if his horse is a boy or girl. I thought in the movie that it was a girl but I might be wrong. If I have it spelled wrong or wrong entirely please or if I have the horses gender wrong, please let me know. Thanks.**

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Chapter Two – Marriage

-_**Narnia**_-

For Caspian it had been two weeks since King Edmund, Queen Lucy and their cousin, Eustace had returned back to their own world. He knew that is was the same world that Susan was currently residing in. And also, much to his dissatisfaction, it had also been two weeks since the Telmarine Councilors had informed Caspian that under the kingdom law, Caspian had to get married or else he would loose his throne.

To Caspian, this was the worst news he could ever receive for he was still in love with Queen Susan the Gentle, the brave girl who had stolen his heart while helping him defeat his evil Uncle Miraz. Even if he was never to see her again how could he go and marry another girl when he was still in love with Susan? For one, it would be unfair to the woman he would marry and also it would be unfair to Susan.

When the Councilors informed him of this news, King Caspian had practically thrown a fit and told the Council that he couldn't find a woman to marry just like that and that he needed time. Thankfully, King Edmund and Queen Lucy had tried to calm him down. The two young majesties tried to reason with him while their cousin Eustace had looked at the three in confusion. Eustace of course had no knowledge of King Caspian's romance with Queen Susan. Edmund and Lucy's reasoning had managed to calm down Caspian a little bit but Caspian was still in denial.

Now Caspian stood in front of his Council, pleading with them to find out if there was any way out of the predicament. "I don't want to get married just because I need a Queen, I want to marry because I love that person." Caspian told the Council.

"That is of no matter now; you are king of Telmar and Narnia, Caspian. While being King of Narnia doesn't require you to have a Queen at your side, the Telmarine law does. It states that you have to find a Queen to rule at your side or you will loose the throne." Councilor Leonidas informed him.

Caspian was speechless for a moment. He could refuse to marry and then loose the throne, but he knew that couldn't abandon his people. If he would loose the throne, nobody would be able to stop the Narnians and Telmarines from going to war with one another. He knew that there were still some rebels living in Narnia and they would fight against the Narnians at the first chance that they got. Caspian knew he couldn't do that to his people.

But at the same time Caspian would feel extremely guilty taking a wife that he could never love. Caspian knew that he would never be able to offer his future wife his heart or his love because the belonged to Queen Susan the Gentle. He wished that Susan would have been aloud to stay in Narnia, for he knew that he would have asked for her hand if she would have been aloud to stay.

"Caspian, you know that you can not abandon your people." Councilor Nieander reasoned. "And if you don't get married that will be exactly what will happen."

Councilor Theron spoke next, "We can make this easier on you King Caspian…" he trailed off in suggestion, seeing if the King would accept his offer.

"How?" the young King asked.

"We could choose your bride for you." Councilor Theron suggested.

Caspian considered this for a moment. He didn't want to get married at all really unless it was to Susan but if someone was to pick his bride for him, maybe it would be a little less tough on him. '_No, I can't do that. I can't do that to Susan or the woman that the Council picks.' _Caspian thought.

But yet another Councilor spoke before he got the chance to let his thoughts be known, "There is no need for that." Councilor Vasilios said slowly.

"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked.

"Your marriage was arranged weeks ago. You will marry Princess Alastrina, a star's daughter. She will make a great Queen." Councilor Vasilios announced.

Several of the Councilors gasped at this while others nodded like they had known this fact all along.

"And when were you planning on telling me that I was betrothed?" King Caspian asked angrily. He couldn't believe a member of his Council had gone behind his back and betrothed him. "What if I don't want to marry this _star's daughter. _I don't even _know _the woman."

"The matter is already done and finished. The wedding will take some time and King Caspian and Princess Alastrina will need time to get to know each other being they are wed…" Councilor Vasilios continued on, ignoring King Caspian's questioning completely, much to Caspian's annoyance.

"Yes, of course." Councilor Leonidas said. "Three months should be enough time to prepare, don't you think?" he asked the Council.

Several of the Councilors nodded in agreement while a few looked unsure. They looked at their King to see his reaction. They weren't at all surprised to see the young king practically seething with anger. They had come to know that he had quiet the temper and was often on a short fuse. Only Doctor Cornelius knew the reason for this short fuse though, and that reason was that Susan was no longer around to keep him calm.

"Don't I get a say in this?!" King Caspian blurted out to the Council in anger.

A few Councilors looked at Caspian in sympathy while others shook their head and ignored him. King Caspian was practically ripping his own hair out he was so angry at the Council.

"Three months shall suffice then." Councilor Vasilios said with a wicked smile.

King Caspian glared at the council and then turned on his heel and fled from the room. He couldn't believe that the Council was actually making him do this. Caspian ran into the stables and saddled Destrier, his noble horse, and rode to the only spot that brought him comfort these days, Cair Paravel. To Caspian, just knowing that his Queen Susan had once lived in the ancient ruins brought him comfort.

"Oh Susan, I only wish that you were here to help me sort things out. If you were here this wouldn't even be a problem. I would have asked for you hand ages ago." King Caspian muttered to himself.

Caspian sat down on an old round stone, which probably used to be part of a column. Caspian put his head in his hands in complete despair. "What am I going to do?" he asked himself.

He felt something nuzzle the back of his neck and he jumped in surprise. When he turned he saw that Destrier was nuzzling his neck with her muzzle. Caspian stroked his faithful mare's forelock and remembered when he had sent Lucy and Susan off into the woods to find Aslan, only to have to save Susan minutes later when she was attacked by the Telmarine soldiers.

**_-Flashback-_**

_Caspian fiddled with Destrier's_ _saddles, making sure that they were on correctly placed on his mare. It had been decided that Susan and Lucy would venture into the woods to try and find Aslan so Aslan could help them in the fight. In the meantime, Peter was going to save them some time by going against Miraz. Caspian knew that as soon as Susan and Lucy were gone, he would find a horse and follow them. There was no way that he was going to let them go alone. It wasn't that he didn't think that Susan couldn't take care of herself, or Lucy, but he wanted to make sure that nothing would happen to her. _

_"Destrier_ _has always served me well." Caspian said while he pulled on the girth straps of the saddle, checking once more to see if they were secure. "You are in good hands." he said as he patted the saddle, showing that everything was ready to go._

_"Or hooves." Susan teased with a smile on her face._

_Caspian grinned at her joke and looked up at the beautiful woman before him. He knew that as long as he lived he would never find anyone that made him feel the way that Susan did. Just looking at her soft smile made his heart skip a beat. He looked down and made sure that Susan's feet were secure in the stirrups. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, tell her that if anything would happen to her that he would be crushed but in the end he settle for something a little more simple, "Good luck and be careful." Caspian told her. "Please."_

_Susan looked away, not meeting Caspian's gaze and Caspian felt his heart sink a little when she responded with a slightly cold, "Thanks." _

_Caspian looked down and noticed he was still carrying Susan's horn. He removed it from his belt and held it out to her. He wanted her to have it, just in case. "Look, maybe it is that that you take this back." Caspian said slowly._

_Susan smiled and pulled on Destria's reigns, "No." she said. "You keep it. You never know when you might been to call me again."_

_Caspian grinned back at her and put the horn back on his belt. He patted Destrier's __back._

_"I'll be careful, I promise." Susan told him after a moment of silence._

_Caspian glanced up at her and noticed a small spark in her eyes, "Thank you." he said._

_Susan clicked her tongue and then Destria raced out of the tunnel and started to head for the woods. Caspian decided to wait a moment and he was glad that he did. He heard Queen Lucy's voice carrying down the tunnel, "You might need to call me again?" she asked, referring to what Susan had told Caspian when he tried to give her the horn back. _

_"Lucy." he heard Susan warn._

_"Susan and Caspian sitting in a tree, K-I-S-" Lucy started to sing out but her voice faded out before Caspian was able to hear the rest. He smirked at Queen Lucy's antics. He knew that Susan was probably scolding her little sister by now. The young Prince, soon to be King, waited a few more moments before getting another horse and following the two Queens of Old. He wasn't going to let anything happen to them._

_-**End Flashback**-_

Caspian smiled and shook his head at the memory. It seemed as if things had been so simple back then, just three and a half years before, well apart from the war. He was wasn't being forced to marry someone and he knew that he was in love with Susan. He had known the moment he first saw her, when she came to find her brother Peter and himself in a sword fight. Had Caspian known that the man he was fighting was High King Peter he probably wouldn't have tried to attack him. He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. At least he and High King Peter had gotten on better terms before they left.

King Caspian sighed and ran his hand through his dark brown locks. He looked out over the ocean and noticed the sun was beginning to set. So much time had passed when Caspian was reminiscing. He stood up and nudged Destrier , "Come on girl, we have to get back to the castle. I bet Reepicheep and Trufflehunter have sent out search parties for me already." Caspian joked and then mounted Destrier before he took off in the direction of the castle.

As King Caspian was riding away from Cair Paravel he decided something. He was going to restore the castle, back to it's former glory in memory of the Queens and Kings of Old. When he got back to the castle he would present the idea to the Council. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about his arranged marriage but he couldn't loose the throne. He decided to just trust that Aslan had a plan and that everything would work out in the end.

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**_Please review :) You guys were so awesome last chapter!_**

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	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: _Okay so here is the next chapter! Oh my gosh, you guys are so great. This is the best response I have ever got from a story. Almost 30 reviews for the past two chapters! You guys are so great, I can't thank you enough! So here is the next chapter. We are back to Susan because I know you all want to find out what has happened to her. I put a little flashback from the ending on chapter one because I know sometimes I forget what happens in a fanfic when I read them so I just thought I would add that in. Anyways, I'll quit rambling and let you go on to the next chapter! Read and please review!_**

**Disclaimer:_ I am trying to think of something original to say but really I have nothing except for, I can't be C.S. Lewis even if I wanted to, I am a girl so it's pretty impossible for me to be him, therefore I don't own any of the characters (aside from the ones I've made up) I've just used C.S. Lewis's characters and used them to fit my own plot. Again, please don't sue._**

**Just a small note****: _Okay, I'm here to do some shameless begging. Lol. If any of you are fans of Twilight series, I have a story up called 'Lachrymose.' It is a Bella/Edward fic but the beginning is more focused on Bella and Jasper who are siblings during the time when Jazz was human. (The beginning is basically focused on Family and Drama but as we get to the middle/ending of the story there will be Romance thrown into it.) Basically its Jazz's story that he told in 'Eclipse' about how he was changed with Bella thrown into the mix. So if you are interested go to my page and look under my stories for 'Lachrymose.' I'd really appreciate it. Okay, I'm done pleading now._ :)**

* * *

**Chapter Three – Explanations**

**-Flashback from Chapter One-**

"_Caspian what?" Susan questioned, her heart already sinking. If she had known that this was going to be about Caspian, maybe she would have took her siblings advice and just dropped it._

"_Caspian has to get married Susan, and soon." Lucy announced._

**-End Flashback-**

* * *

_**-England-**_

Peter sighed heavily as he watched the small spark in Susan's eyes flicker out. They were completely emotionless now. Susan on the other hand felt as if he heart was going to stop. Tears started to build up behind her eyes and were threatening to fall at any given moment.

Peter saw this and mentally smacked his forehead in frustration, '_I knew this was going to kill her. Now we've done it. We've completely broken Susan.' _Peter thought grimly. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to just got and punch Caspian as hard as he could.

"He—he—he what?" Susan managed to stumble out.

'_I had to have heard her wrong. Lucy and Edmund said he didn't forget about me. He—we—I thought we loved each other. Maybe it was just one sided after all.' _Susan thought sadly as one lone tear slid down her cheek.

"He has to get married." Lucy said softly.

Susan couldn't stop the tears now. They were freely falling down her face. Susan flopped down on her bed and started to cry into her pillow. She heard someone start to come up behind her to comfort her but she didn't want comfort. She wanted to be alone.

"Please…" Susan pleaded. "I just want to be alone."

Lucy, who had began to walk up behind her sighed at her sister's response, "Alright Susan. We will, for now." Lucy said.

Edmund, Peter and Lucy quietly left the room and slowly shut the door behind them. As soon as they had left they could hear Susan begin to sob loudly into her pillow, saying something about Caspian not loving her anymore.

"If only she knew how wrong she really was." Edmund mused after listening to his sister's mutterings.

"What are you talking about Ed?" Peter asked. Lucy and Edmund had told Peter about Caspian getting married but they hadn't told him the whole story. They really hadn't had the chance. Peter had spent the whole Summer at the Professor's house and only got to see Edmund and Lucy for a few minutes before he left to pick up Susan and their parents from the train station in Finchley.

"It wasn't Caspian's choice to get married. He is being forced into it." Edmund explained to his brother.

Peter felt his expression form into one of complete confusion, "Why?" Peter managed to sputter out.

Lucy snorted, "Apparently according to the Telmarine law Caspian has to take a wife so that she can be queen. If he doesn't, then he looses the throne." She explained bitterly.

Peter instantly felt bad for wanting to hit Caspian. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the young King who was probably still hopelessly in love with his sister but had to marry another woman for his people. "Shouldn't we tell Susan this?" Peter asked beginning to put his hand on the doorknob of his sister's door.

Lucy looked at Susan's door. The three of them could still hear her crying and mumbling to herself. "Not now. It's been a long day and we all need some sleep." She said wisely.

Edmund and Peter both nodded, "But we will tell her soon, right?" Peter asked.

"Of course we will. Who knows, maybe the news will even make her feel a little better." Edmund said, trying to be optimistic about something for once.

Lucy and Peter laughed lowly and then walked to their own rooms. They would have to wait until morning to explain the rest of the story to Susan.

* * *

Lucy fell into an uneasy sleep that night. She could hear her sister's sobs in the room next to hers. She lay awake wondering what they could possibly do to help both Caspian and Susan.

Lucy knew that Caspian did not even want to get married to any besides Susan. His tantrum when he had found out he had to get married had proved that but Lucy was unsure on how to fix things. Lucy also knew that Aslan had told Susan that she couldn't go back to Narnia but she wondered if maybe Aslan could make an exception. If he knew how upset King Caspian was and then saw how completely heartbroken maybe he would reconsider everything.

"Aslan," Lucy began, "I know you told Peter and Susan that they could never return to Narnia but both Susan and Caspian are so unhappy being separated from each other. Caspian is being forced into marriage now and doesn't want to marry anyone other than Susan because he loves her. He really loves her, Aslan. Susan is just as bad as Caspian. She is heartbroken, Aslan. I can't stand to see Susan this way." Lucy choked back a sob. "Please Aslan, allow Susan to return to Narnia. I know you said that England is her home but Susan is so unhappy here." Lucy paused for a moment. "The only way that Susan will ever truly be happy is in Narnia with Caspian. Have mercy." Lucy finished.

After she finished, Lucy fell into a deep sleep. Little did she know that both Edmund and Peter were asking Aslan for mercy too, wishing that their sister could return to Narnia. For they all knew that Narnia was her true home.

* * *

It was the next morning when Lucy, Edmund and Peter went in to see Susan. Their sister had fallen into a restless sleep finally in the wee hours of the morning after crying for hours. Susan began to wake when she felt someone begin to stroke her hair. She heard Lucy murmuring soft words to her. "It's alright Su, everything will be fine. You'll see." Lucy said.

Susan shot up, despite her sleepy state. Her siblings took in her appearance, her eyes were completely blood-shot, her face was paler than normal, her hair was a complete mess and worst of all, her eyes were void. Completely detached and just what Peter had feared.

"How can you say everything will be okay Lucy?" Susan said sharply to her sister. "Nothing is okay now, nothing! He doesn't love me anymore." She mumbled the last part.

"Sure he does." Lucy said.

Susan rolled her eyes, "Oh, so that's why he is going and marrying some other woman." She pointed out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It's not his choice though." Edmund put in. He and Peter had been silent through the whole ordeal and were just sitting at the end of Susan's bed.

Susan shifted her eyes over to Edmund, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"In the Telmarine kingdom laws it states that all Kings must have a Queen to rule alongside him." Edmund explained. "If Caspian doesn't marry then he'll loose the throne."

"Oh my…" Susan said and brought her hand to her mouth in shock, her teary eyes were widened in shock.

"If it makes you feel any better, Caspian went out on a rampage when the Council told him that he had to get married. I have never seen him so angry in his whole entire life. He was yelling and cursing and just about refused to get married. He said that he couldn't do that to you Susan, he said that it wouldn't be fair because he was in love with you and not some other woman." Edmund said.

Susan felt her eyes tear up again, not from sadness but from partial happiness. He loved her. He still loved her even after all the time that had passed. Peter eyed his sister carefully, "Great job Edmund! You made her cry again." Peter said as he pushed Edmund off the bed. Edmund felt on the ground with a 'thump.'

"Ow, Peter!" Edmund cursed as he hit the floor.

Lucy giggled slightly and not even a few seconds later they heard a voice shout up the stairs, "Is everything alright up there?" Their mother's voice called in concern.

"It's fine." The four siblings answered in unison.

A few moments later they heard their mother say, "Okay."

"Peter calm down." Susan said as she got up off her bed to check and make sure Edmund was okay. "I wasn't crying because I'm sad, I'm crying from relief."

Peter looked at her incredulously. "Why would you be happy?"

"Because Caspian still loves me, Peter, that's why. I don't want Caspian to get married at all." She sighed. "And as twisted and wrong as it sounds, I'd rather he get married because he has to over him getting married because he has moved on and has fallen in love with someone else. I know it is selfish but it's true." Susan explained.

It was silent for a moment while Peter thought this over, "I guess I can understand that." Peter said finally. "Sort of." He muttered to himself. Truthfully, he didn't really understand Susan's love for Caspian but if that was made her happy, then he was okay with it. And as long as Caspian didn't hurt his sister purposely, he wasn't going to get in the way of things.

"Well what are we going to do now?" Lucy asked.

"What do you mean?" Susan asked.

Lucy looked at Susan, "Well you aren't going to let Caspian marry some other woman are you?" Lucy asked.

"I don't really have a choice." Susan said as she fiddled with her hands again.

"Of course you do!" Lucy exclaimed.

"As much as I don't want to say it Lu, Susan really doesn't. Aslan told us that we were never going to return to Narnia. What other options do we have?" Peter said slowly.

Lucy blinked, "I know that but I think Susan needs to talk to Aslan."

"How would I do that? He isn't exactly here in front of me." Susan said slowly.

Lucy rolled her eyes at her sister, "Well of course he isn't. Just go somewhere quiet and just begin to talk to him like he is really there. Aslan is always listening." She said.

Susan narrowed her eyes, "Well if he is always listening then why hasn't he said anything. If he is always listening then he should know how heartbroken I am. It's as if he doesn't even care!" Susan said.

Lucy's eyes grew sad, "He cares about you Susan, he loves you." She said softly. "Aslan always has a plan. Maybe the time just isn't right yet. When we were still in Narnia, he said that both you and Caspian still had many things to learn. You need to talk to him Su, you'll never know his plan for you if you don't talk to him first."

Edmund cleared his throat, "You know she is right, Su. You do need to talk to him." He said.

Susan sighed softly, "Well, where would I go to talk to him?"

"When I need to talk to Aslan I just go someplace quiet when no one is around." Peter explained. "You could even talk to him now, in you room and we will leave you alone." He said while looking at Edmund and Lucy to see if they agreed.

"Right." Lucy agreed.

Edmund nodded, "If you want to we can go downstairs and distract Mother." He offered.

"Alright." Susan said quietly.

Peter, Edmund and Lucy stood up and quietly left the room, leaving their sister to think about things. She sighed, she felt a little weird speaking to no one but she decided to try anyways.

She took a deep breath and then spoke, "Aslan, I don't know if you can hear me. Lucy said you can and I know by now that when Lucy says something nine times out of ten she actually knows what she is talking about." Susan said with a short laugh, "They said I need to talk to you about things so here I am…" she stopped suddenly. "I love Caspian. I really do." She confessed. "Lucy and Edmund just came back from Narnia and they told me that Caspian has to get married by law but he doesn't want to and frankly, I don't want him to either. I love him and I miss him so much, Aslan. I don't know if you will let me but please Aslan; just let me see him again. Please." Susan murmured softly. "Just have mercy, Aslan."

Suddenly the wind started to pick up in Susan's small room. A small whirlwind like tornado appeared in the center of her room. It keep spinning faster and faster until it started to morph into a shape. She couldn't make it out at first but as the shape grew more and more detailed Susan's lips lifted up into a hopeful smile and a small spark returned to her eyes.

The winds died down and the shape was fully formed. Susan's eyes widened and then she launched herself out at the figure before her.

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**_So there you go, sorry for the cliff-hanger (again) but I thought it was a nice place to stop. So, review? _**


	5. Author's Note

ATTENTION: I hate it when people put author's notes as chapters and it really annoys me but right now I really don't have a choice

**ATTENTION: I hate it when people put author's notes as chapters and it really annoys me but right now I really don't have a choice. I won't be able to post for awhile because something big came up and there is nothing I can do about it. Where I live the governor has declared a state of emergency in 44 counties because of horrible flooding. Tonight is going to make all that worse and my town might possibly have to evacuate, that means no internet and although I will have my laptop who knows when I will be able to post. I'm so, so, so, sorry but this is completely out of my hands. I have to go now because we have to move some of our stuff to higher ground so, let's just hope that nothing bad happens.**

**Until Then,**

**Musicormisery4105**


	6. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: _Okay, I know this chapter isn't much but I didn't want to leave you hanging after the amazing amount of reviews I got for both my author's note and chapter three. Just to let everyone who replied to my Authors Note, I am fine. It was an interesting past couple of days with everything that has been going on. We had to sandbag our levy as much as possible. My best guyfriend was even out for five hours one day sandbagging and almost passed out for heat exhaustion. (It was almost 100 degrees here some days) They brought in the marines and national guard to help sandbag but we had a partial levy failure and a run around (which means the water actually ran around the levy which almost blocked our whole town off) We did have to end up evacuating on Monday. My house thankfully was missed by the flood waters and my family and I and our house is safe but the danger isn't over yet. Over 40 percent of our small town is underwater (well not UNDER water but there is about three to four feet of water standing in some places) and not to mention this is river water (which means we even have some fish floating around, Disgusting. Trust me) So we are in the process of cleaning up so I still don't know how often I will be able to write but I will try to update as much as I can but I am not promising anything. I am trying not to ramble on too much but some people were asking what happened so I thought I would say. If any people are interested I do have a Live Journal and later today I will probably be posting a blog on my adventure if you want to check it out. The link to my journal is on my profile near the top I think. Lol. So sorry for this LONG authors note, sometimes I get carried away with explaining or telling about things. But here is the next chapter!!_**

**Disclaimer:_ I own nothing!_**

**IMPORTANT_:_ Anyways, It was brought to my attention in my other story, 'Lachrymose' that people who had replied to my Author's Note could not review the next chapter that I posted since I deleted the Author's Note and then replaced it with the next chapter. If anyone knows how to fix this please let me know by review (if you are able to) or PM (if you arent able to review). I was going to do the same here (delete the authors note and post the chapter in it's place) but since it caused problems with my other story I'm not so sure now. So if anyone can help that would be great.**

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**Chapter Four – Aslan**

-**Flashback**-

_The winds died down and the shape was fully formed. Susan's eyes widened and then she launched herself out at the figure before her._

-**End Flashback**-

* * *

-_**England**_-

"Aslan!" Susan said happily as she hugged onto the large lion before her.

Aslan stood in the center of Susan's rather small room, looking at Susan with his large amber colored eyes. They were gentle and caring, just as Susan remembered they were. She dug her fingers into his thick golden mane. Normally she wouldn't be one to act like this but she was just so happy to see him. She felt a spark of hope finally returned to her. Hope that she might be able to get to Caspian and hope that she could see him again before it was too late.

Aslan chuckled, bringing Susan from her hopeful thoughts. "Hello daughter of Eve." He said in his smooth, deep voice.

Susan smiled at the great lion, "You actually came." She said happily as she hugged him once more.

Aslan looked sad for a moment, "Did you think I wouldn't come, dear one? Did you think that I wouldn't hear you?" he asked her, disappointment creeping from his tone of voice.

To Susan, it was all a bit surreal. When Lucy had suggested that she try and talk to Aslan, she hadn't thought that the great lion would listen to her heart filled plea. Now that she thought about it she realized how silly they speculation was. Of course Aslan would come. She felt ashamed that she really thought that he wouldn't.

"I don't know." Susan said truthfully.

"I think you do know." The great lion said.

"I'm sorry." Susan apologized. "I think deep down I knew you would hear me but…" she trailed off.

"But what, dear one?" he asked.

Susan shrugged and sat down on her bed, "I guess with everything that has gone on recently, I'm starting to loose hope in a lot of things."

Aslan nodded, "Do you still doubt me, daughter of Eve."

Susan shook her head, "No, Aslan. I don't."

"Good." He said. "But why did you doubt me in the first place, dear one?" Aslan asked curiously, his amber eyes squinting slightly at the question.

She sighed and turned her face away from him, embarrassed, "Because Aslan, you took me away from Narnia. Before we went back to Narnia for the second time, England may have very well been my home. My biological family was here, my school was here, my friends were here but going back to Narnia for the second time..." Susan trailed off slightly. "My friends in Narnia became my family and I got used to living in Narnia again. I learned things and found things in Narnia that I could never find in England because they all reside in Narnia. I may have been physically born in England but I was emotionally and spiritually reborn in Narnia." Susan explained while Aslan listened to her confession quietly. "You may not think so but, Narnia is now my true home. I lost my faith and hope in you because you took that all away. You ripped me away from all my friends who lived in Narnia and expected me to go back to England and be happy. I knew the moment that you told me this that that was not going to happen." Her voice was just below a whisper as she admitted this. "You told me I was never going to be able to see them again and you took me away from my lo—" she cut herself off quickly.

"Your what?" Aslan asked.

Susan debated back and forth in her head whether or not to admit it to Aslan or not, finally her heart won over her logical side, "My love. You took me away from my love, Aslan. That is what made me doubt you. You made me feel like you didn't care for me when you took everything that I loved away from me and sent me and my siblings back here." She said softly.

Aslan spoke, "I am truly sorry, Daughter of Eve. I did not know that you felt this way. And tell me, who is this love that you speak of?" he asked with a slight smile.

Susan had a feeling that the great lion already knew who she was referring to but decided to humor him anyways, "Caspian." She whispered softly.

Aslan chuckled quietly, "Of course. I am sorry, dear one, that taking you away from King Caspian has made you miserable in your own world. I never meant you hurt you, I was just doing what I thought was right at the time. But, I think I made a mistake. I didn't see the deepness of your feelings for him." He said. "Now, speaking of King Caspian, I believe you mentioned him earlier when you were trying to reach me…" the Lion trailed off suggestively, asking Susan to explain.

Susan blushed slightly, "I love him, Aslan." She said bluntly. "I love him so much but we can never be together. You said yourself that I can never return to Narnia and now Caspian has to get married or loose the throne. We both know that he wouldn't loose the throne; even if that means that he has to get married. I just—I wish there was some way around this." she said softly.

"Do you really love Caspian as much as you say you do?" Aslan asked her.

Susan managed a soft smile, "Of course I do." She said without any hesitance.

"Then I will allow you to venture back to Narnia." He said. "But, Daughter of Eve, if you go to Narnia now, you can never return back here to England." He warned her. "No matter how things turn out."

Susan considered this a moment, "I want to go to Narnia. I will never be happy here in England knowing that I gave up the chance to chase after my true love." She said.

Aslan smiled, "As you wish." He said, he was about to breath on her, most likely to send her to Narnia with magic but Susan stopped him quickly.

"Aslan, would he be alright if I said goodbye to my siblings first?" Susan asked.

"Of course." Aslan nodded and gestured with his paw for her to go ahead.

Susan ran down the stairs and found her brothers and sister sitting in the living room but her parents were no where in sight. Susan dropped down next to Lucy who was lounging on the sofa watching as Peter and Edmund challenged each other in chess. Lucy jumped as Susan sat down and was startled even more when she saw the cheesy grin plastered on her sister's face.

"Su, are you okay?" Lucy asked.

"I'm perfect." Susan responded.

Edmund turned from his chess game with Peter to look at his sister and was shocked when he saw the first real smile on her face that he had seen in a very long time. "What are you so giddy about?" he asked her curiously.

"I talked to Aslan." Susan said happily.

Lucy's face broke into a smile, "You did?"

"Yes!" Susan said.

"I told you that he would listen." Lucy said, happy to be proven right.

"What did he say?" Peter asked, interested on what the lion had told his sister.

Susan bit her lip, '_Here comes the hard part. Breaking it to my siblings that I'm never coming back.' _

"He is allowing me to go back to Narnia." Susan said.

Lucy squealed and hugged her sister. But Edmund and Peter had frowns on their faces. They both saw the fear and hesitance in their sister's eyes, they knew that there was something their sister wasn't telling them.

"There is more, isn't there." Edmund said.

Susan nodded. "If I go to Narnia, I can never return here to England. My stay in Narnia will be permanent, no matter how things turn out."

It was completely silent as her siblings brooded over their sisters last words. Lucy knew what her suggestion was immediately and told her sister this, "You should go." Lucy said with a small smile. Susan looked tentative so Lucy continued, "Susan, I know you. If you don't give this a try you will regret it for the rest of your life." She said.

"Lucy is right, Su." Peter said after a moment. "Go, go to Caspian and stop him from getting married."

"I agree." Edmund seconded.

Susan nodded and felt a lone tear slide down her cheek again, "I'm just worried, that's all." She said.

Peter and Edmund both saw the tear slide down her cheek and hoped that the waterworks wouldn't be as bad as when they told her Caspian was getting married. Thankfully for them it was just one tear and nothing more, at least for the time being.

"What are you worried about?" Peter asked her.

Susan bit her lip, "What if I am not able to stop him? What if he actually falls in love with someone and I am too late? What if I show up in Narnia and he is gone?" Susan asked in a rush. "What if I never see you again?" she said as a couple more tears began to build in her eyes as she thought of this.

"You will Su, I promise." Edmund said.

"Yes," Lucy agreed, "I have a good feeling that we will be seeing each other again." She said.

Susan nodded and then hugged all of her siblings, telling them her goodbyes and that she would miss them. They hugged her back just as tightly and wished her luck with Caspian. Susan just smiled and nodded, hoping that everything would be okay.

Lucy gave her sister one last short hug before she released her go good, "Now, go get him." She said softly to Susan.

"I will." Susan said before she got up and walked back up to stairs and to her destiny.

* * *

**_Okay, so I tried not to leave you hanging like last time but I couldn't just bring her into Narnia just yet. We still need to find out what is happening to Caspian and Princess _****_Alastrina_** **_. The next couple of chapters will probably be with Caspian in Narnia so you will probably have to wait a little while for Susan to get into Narnia but it will be soon. Within the next two or three chapters hopefully. But anyways, review please. (If you can. Please my IMPORTANT note at the top)_**

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	7. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: ****_Sorry for the wait, I was going to post last night but never got around to it cause it started storming here so we had to turn the wireless off. Again, Sorry. But anyways, here is the next chapter. I needed to move along with the story so this is back with Caspian instead of Susan, although I know you are anxious to know what is happening to her. Sorry to disappoint but things will be focused with Caspian for the next few chapters and you will see why in this chapter, maybe. :) Anyways, I want to thank you all for all of your amazing responses! 183 reviews for the total story so far, 34 of them being the last chapter alone not to mention there are 40 faves and 126 alerts on this story. Not to mention over 7,300 hits for the story total. I can say that I am _BEYOND _pleased with how much you all love the story! So keep up the amazing response, it really helps me write more! Anyways, for the meantime, I am finished rambling. :D_**

**Disclaimer:_ --sarcasm-- Here is a shocker, I still own nothing. --rolls eyes--_**

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**Chapter Five - Alastrina**

-_**Narnia**_-

"King Caspian?" a timid voice called into the King's chambers.

King Caspian rose from his bed with a grunt, "Yes?" he asked.

He looked to the door and saw one of his servants was standing near the door, practically trembling in the hallway. King Caspian looked at the man in pity. The very servant at the door was one of the servants that he had taken his anger out on a few times. He hadn't done anything to _punish _or _hurt _the servants, he just yelled at them a couple times when he was really frustrated. Caspian knew that he didn't want to be like his Uncle Miraz and punish his servants for pointless things. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself before he listened to what the servant had to tell him.

"Your majesty's presence is requested to be in the in the Council Room in an hour." The servant said and then quickly, without another word.

"Right." King Caspian said as he stood up and straightened his clothes. He had decided to take a quick nap after lunch which had quickly turned from a quick nap to a three hour nap.

It had been two weeks since the Council had announced the arranged marriage to King Caspian. He still wasn't okay with the marriage but he had went through the steps of grieving. He was finally accepting it, although he still wasn't happy with it.

Caspian slowly trudged his way towards the Council Room. When he got to the big wooden doors he swung them open and walked right in. He made his way up to his throne and sat down tiredly, not even acknowledging that there was someone else in the room besides the Council.

"Your majesty?" One of the Councilmen addressed.

King Caspian looked up and saw Councilor Leonidas looking at him and waiting for a response, "Yes, Councilor Leonidas?"

"As you know, it has been two weeks since we announced your engagement to you. We decided that enough time has passed that you should be ready to meet your bride." Councilor Leonidas explained.

Caspian's head shot up in surprise, "What?"

"It's a pleasure to you, your majesty." A soft voice said. It sounded vaguely familiar though, like he had heard it before.

Caspian looked up in confusion, before him stood a woman and an older man. He had to admit, the woman was quite beautiful. She had long flowing golden blonde hair that fell to her waist and ocean blue eyes. Her skin was pale, but not the porcelain pale like Susan—'_Susan!_' Caspian thought suddenly. '_I can't believe I am sitting her thinking that some other woman is beautiful. No woman can ever compare to Susan's beauty. No one.' _He told himself sternly.

The older man was pale as well and had silver hair and a beard that fell all the way to his feet. As soon as King Caspian's eyes settled on the man it all came back to him. He had met these two people before.

* * *

-**Flashback**-

_King Caspian stood waiting for the others to come and board the _Dawn Treader. _They had spent the entire night feasting with a retired star named Ramandu and his daughter. _

_King Caspian chuckled as he saw King Edmund and his cousin, Eustace Scrubb, saying their goodbyes to Ramandu's daughter, who was quite beautiful. Ever since they had first saw her King Edmund and Eustace had not taken their eyes off of her and they joked around to Caspian about how beautiful she was. Caspian couldn't bring himself to fawn over her though. She was pretty but he couldn't get his mind off of Susan. _

_He subconsciously took his hand and ran his finger-tips over the length of her majesty's horn which was placed carefully on his belt buckle for safe keeping. He would not trust the horn in anyone else's care besides his own and of course, Queen Susan's. Caspian promised himself if he ever saw Queen Susan again he would return her horn to her, once and for all. _

_As the young king pondered over this he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He turned around, thinking it was Lucy or Edmund but was surprised when he saw Ramandu and his daughter standing before him. Caspian acknowledged them and Ramandu bowed respectfully before King Caspian, as did his daughter._

"_We hope to see you again after you have broken the enchantments." Ramandu said to King Caspian._

_Caspian forced a smile on his face. It wasn't that he didn't like Ramandu or his daughter he just didn't like the looks that Ramandu kept giving him. It was like Ramandu was planning something in his head that King Caspian didn't know about. Caspian wasn't sure if he liked that or not._

_But never-the-less, Caspian remained polite and kept the smile plastered on his face. He looked at Ramandu before he turned to Ramandu's daughter who was looking at her feet and lightly biting her lip as if she was impatient about something. _

_Caspian decided to let it go and continued to speak with Ramandu, "As do I." He told the old star. "Goodbye Ramandu." He said before he turned towards the ship and boarded onto it. _

-**End Flashback**-

* * *

It all made sense now. Caspian saw everything in his head. The looks that Ramandu gave him, Ramandu always trying to find ways to push together King Caspian and his daughter, who he now knew was Princess Alastrina.

'_I can't believe I didn't see this earlier.' _Caspian said as he mentally smacked his forehead at his own stupidity for not realizing the situation before him.

"King Caspian, meet your future bride, Princess Alastrina." Councilor Vasilios said, interrupting Caspian's thoughts as the Councilor gestured between the two of them.

Caspian couldn't help but notice that the woman who stood before him flinched slightly when she heard Councilor Vasilios say the words 'future bride.'

'_Maybe she feels the same way I do? Maybe she doesn't want to be thrown into this either.' _King Caspian thought happily.

He stood from his throne and walked towards Princess Alastrina. He took her hand and kissed it lightly out of courtesy. He couldn't help but notice that she flinched again when he kissed her hand. He dropped her hand and she recoiled back away from him the moment he let her hand go.

"Are you alright?" King Caspian asked, confused on why she was behaving in such a way. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked a second later.

"I am fine." Princess Alastrina replied with what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. But what surprised King Caspian was that Princess Alastrina's smile was completely fake, it was too tense to be a real smile. Caspian gave her one of those, '_I know you are lying' _looks but Princess Alastrina couldn't meet his eyes. Her own eyes were trained to the floor of the Council Room.

"I am just tired from the trip. That is all." Princess Alastrina explained.

"We have already taken the liberty of setting up rooms for Ramandu and Princess Alastrina. They are located in the west wing." Councilor Leonidas announced. "We can have someone escort you to your courters."

"That would be lovely, thank you." Princess Alastrina said quietly.

One of the servants that stood near the doors perked up at that moment. "I can escort you, your Highness." The servant offered.

Princess Alastrina nodded and then both she and her father followed the servant from the Council Room.

Not much later King Caspian found himself in the dinner hall looking at the marvelous feast that the cooks had prepared in honor of the occasion. Caspian hadn't seen so much food since he was made King of Narnia.

'_Princess Alastrina's presence must mean a lot to the kingdom.' _Caspian thought. '_Well of course she does! She is going to be your bride!' _His logical side reminded him.

King Caspian sat at the head of the table with Princess Alastrina to his right and Ramandu to his left. Several other people were present at the table as well, including the Council, many Lords and their families and other 'important' people of the kingdom.

Ramandu interrupting King Caspian's peaceful thinking when he started to talk about the wedding plans which made both Caspian and Alastrina uncomfortable. "When is the royal wedding being held?" Ramandu asked.

King Caspian didn't have an answer. He looked down at his plate as he searched for words, "I—I am not completely sure." Caspian answered.

"Well, are you even the least bit prepared?" Ramandu asked with a look of disapproval written on his face.

King Caspian was once again without words. He stuttered a few times but nothing that came out of his mouth made any sense. He didn't want to say anything that could offend Ramandu. Lucky for King Caspian, Princess Alastrina came to his rescue, "Please father, we have not got the chance to speak about the wedding yet. We only got here today. Give us some time. We do not have to rush it." She said.

Caspian was slightly shocked. In the whole time that Ramandu and Princess Alastrina had been present in the castle, Alastrina had not said one word to the King besides their first meeting in the Council Room. If Caspian didn't know any better, he would say that Alastrina was avoiding him. He wasn't sure why she would avoid him thought; he hadn't thought he did anything to offend the Princess.

Ramandu nodded, once again breaking Caspian from his own thoughts and bringing him back to the present, "You are completely right, daughter." He said. "We do not have to rush it for we will make this the grandest wedding in all of Narnia's history."

King Caspian found himself groaning internally. He didn't want a grand wedding, something that everyone would pay attention to. He didn't even want a wedding at all. He felt awful but he didn't even want to get married at all. '_But that is one of the things that comes with being the King.' _His mind reasoned with him.

"How about sometime tomorrow we meet to discuss the wedding. We can start planning a little and maybe get some groundwork done. What do you say?" Ramandu pressed diligently.

Princess Alastrina made no protest but she didn't exactly agree to it. King Caspian nodded but didn't make any other noise. The rest of the dinner went on a planned and King Caspian found himself listening silently to Ramandu's constant jabbering, nodding and agreeing at the right times although his mind was really far away. He couldn't help but let his mind wonder off to his lost love.

* * *

-**Flashback**-

"_Do you mind if I join you?" Her sweet voice sang out to him as he sat alone in the courtyard with his hand resting under his chin, deep in thought._

_Prince—well, now newly crowned _King_—Caspian's head shot up. His eyes fixed on the beautiful brunette before him. He smiled and then answered her question, "Of course, my queen." He told her softly._

_Susan sat down next to him. Caspian stared off into space and thought about being King. He wasn't sure he was ready. In fact, he was almost sure that he _wasn't _ready. He feared that he would fall short and fail his people. He couldn't do that, he just couldn't. _

"_What are you thinking about?" Susan asked after many moments of silence on both of their parts._

_Caspian sighed, "I am thinking about being king." He answered her truthfully._

"_Why do you look so upset then? I thought you were happy to be king." She asked._

"_I am happy to be king. I am happy that I will be able to serve the people that I care about, both the Narnians and my own people, but—" Caspian didn't finish his sentence._

"_But what?" Susan urged._

_Caspian turned his face from staring into nothingness to looking into her azure eyes. "I am scared that I will fail my people. I am scared that I do not have what it takes to be king. Sure, we won the battle but what if the Narnians and my own people fight? How can I choose sides? What if my subjects loose faith in me and turn against me? What will I do then? I am afraid of making the wrong decisions and I doubt myself. I am not ready, nor am I worthy of being King of Narnia." Caspian confessed to her._

_Susan drew a sharp breath, "Don't say that Caspian!" she said sharply. "Don't say that about yourself. Aslan _himself _knew that you were ready to be King of Narnia, why do you doubt yourself so? Do you doubt Aslan's decision?" she asked him finally._

"_No. Of course I don't. Aslan is always right but—" Caspian once again didn't finish. "I can always make a mistake and I am afraid that that mistake might be the wrong one and possible a costly one. I am just worried, that's all. I don't doubt Aslan, I just doubt myself." He explained to her._

_Susan rested her hand on his arm that was meant to be reassuring to him, "I think—no, I _know _that you will make a great king, Caspian." She said. He looked deep into her eyes and saw that she was telling the truth. "You will." She promised._

_He only hoped that she was right._

-**End Flashback**-

* * *

'_She was right. There has been nothing that I couldn't handle in the Kingdom, as of yet_.' Caspian thought.

As he was thinking this Alastrina, who had been quietly pushing her food around on her plate suddenly dropped her fork and pushed her chair back from the table. "I am not feeling very hungry." She said, grabbing Caspian attention and ripping him from his thoughts once more. "I think I will go for a walk in the gardens."

"Do you want me to accompany you?" Caspian asked out of politeness.

Alastrina shook her head, "No." she said. "I would prefer to be alone."

King Caspian nodded and gestured for her to go ahead. Alastrina offered Caspian a smile before she turned to her father, "I won't be too long." She promised.

Ramandu nodded and then Princess Alastrina left the room and ventured out of the gardens. She pulled her cloak tightly around her despite the warmness of the night. She wandered to the very back of the garden, to the very blackest parts and strolled into the shadows in search of someone whom she had asked to follow her to King Caspian's castle but not make their presence known to anyone other than herself.

Princess Alastrina had a secret that nobody else knew about and her upcoming marriage to King Caspian was interfering with that secret. Alastrina had to do something to fix that problem.

And she knew exactly how to do just that.

* * *

**_So...any thoughts? Comments? Suspicions of what Alastrina is up to? Please review!_**

* * *


End file.
